(Closed) Anyone familiar with military/government programs?

I’ve always had an interest in the military, and I’m thinking that once my Fiance and I are married, I might look in to it again. I don’t want to be away from home for an extended period of time, which is the main reason that I never went through with it. Is anyone familiar with the different options available? I have my B.A. in Economics, had good grades, and have a strong resume. I’ve heard that the US Coast Guide officer program might be a good fit – you’re not away for training for long, chances of deployment are very low, you’re generally based close to home, and there’s a lot of opportunity for working locally.

I’ve also thought about doing something like Americorps, or something similar. Right now, my plan is to apply for and hopefully go to grad school for a Masters in Public Policy for the fall 2011 term. I have a job, but I’d like to try something totally different for the next year, and hopefully find something that helps shape my longer-term career options.

I think that entering the Air Force officer program has a low chance of deploying also. My husband’s father was an officer in the Air Force and he never deployed. He did move every 3 years though but that might be with anyone in the military.

My husband is in the Air Force, and as long as you’re active military you will most likely be stationed away from home. You might want to look into the National Guard. You will still have to go through basic for whichever branch you join, but that way your fiance can keep his job at home and you can stay together. The military doesn’t budge too much and will more than likely station you out of state. We are staitioned in a TINY little town in New Mexico haha. The only way to find out is to talk to a recruiter though, he can tell you all the benefits of being a military officer and everything. Good luck with whatever you decide :).

Um, air force officers get deployed all the time. Most of the officers I went to school with have gone to Iraq already or are due to. And a lot of the officers on DH’s base in iraq were air force. THey do have bases over there…..

basically if you join the military, there is a 99.99% chance you will have to move. And your FH can either stay home (and you can be in a long distant relationship) or go with you. that’s how being in the military works. No matter the program, it’d be a lot of “hopes” and “ifs”….nothing is for certain until you get your papers. You’d be taking a big risk if you aren’t willing to move.

now you could always consider a non-deployable reservist position if you still desire to serve your country….Darling Husband got one in the Army, so i know they have some out there.

But if you wanted to be an officer you’d have to compete to get in, plus go through all the training officers go through. And those will most certainly not be in your home town

torybrian, why do you want to join the Military? It seems to me you want to serve but you don’t want to commit to the lifestyle. Even with Americorps it’s pretty much gauranteed you’re going to have to move, which you don’t want to do. I’m not saying this is a bad thing but it’s not a carreer path that is for everyone. My SO is in the Army National Guard (not active) and it’s hard for us to plan anything as is because we don’t know if he’ll be able to stay where he is or if he’ll have to move somewhere else or if they’ll want to send him overseas. And we won’t know until it happens.

If you’re looking to help the military in some way and you want to expand your career. Maybe you should look into getting a Federal Job as a civilian in the Department of Defense. My SO and I work as a Contract Specialists for the Department of the Army. We get great benifits and retirement, job security and we work on programs that help soliders. (We organize contracts for communications equipment for soliders overseas. Blueforce tracker,WINT, it sounds simple and we forget it sometimes but it’s the type of stuff that can save lives) There’s tons of room for advancements and career opputunities. They’ll also pay for further education (since you’re looking to get your masters) and sometimes some of your old loans (Student Loan Repayment Program.)

It can be a little tricky getting through the application process but with a degree in business there’s tons of oppurtunities for you in government. Jeeze, I totally sound like a recruiter, but seriously it’s a good career to have and you’re able to serve the military while you don’t have to move.

Ditto what everyone else just said. If you join the military you are probably going to deploy at some point in time (and probably more than once at that) and you will definitely have to move. You can request where you would like to be stationed, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to get it. I think you nailed it on the head when you said you don’t want to be away from home long periods of time and your Darling Husband can’t move with his career. Those two things right there are HUGE deal breakers with the military.

Obviously, being a military spouse, I am VERY proud of my husband and all that he does. The stress/training/BS that he goes through is something that I dont’ think the average person can handle. Several months ago, he was training in a very cold/harsh landscape (don’t want to give too many details as to where b/c that can be bad)…Let’s just say one night they had to stay out in the field and sleep out there (without tents) and it was 20 BELOW ZERO. At that point, he had already been training out in the field for 3 weeks, sleeping most nights in an unheated tent. After 4 long weeks of harsh training, they wrapped it up by doing a 17 mile road march (wearing 60lb rucksacks)….And through all of this, not once did he complain. I am constantly amazed at his drive. Now, with that said, as proud of him and his military accomplishments, I CAN NOT WAIT FOR HIME TO BE OUT OF THE ARMY. lol Not very subtle about that am I?

I am very greatful to the men & woman who serve in our armed forces, however, I’m read to have OUR life back and live life by OUR terms. Having a spouse in the military is so gosh darn hard because you have to plan everything around their schedule. Weddings, kids, birthdays, family reunions, you name it. Just be prepared for that. Not only do you move a lot and deploy, but you will always be military first and then family second…..and I’ve only been dealing with this for 2 1/2 years.

@JsDragonfly: ditto everything you just said. EVERYTHING. I’m about to be a military spouse. and have been doing this for almost 5 years. ITS ROUGH and i know exactly what you mean. I cannot wait for Fiance to get out of the navy! 3 years left woo hoo!

You definately have to have a strong relationship and something you and Fiance would need to seriouslyyyyy talk about. You will most likely get deployed and hardly ever get to choose where you want to be stationed unless you’ve been in for a while. Also, If your planning on having children anytime soon.. then dont do it. We have a 15 month old and its been so hard. The good thing about the military is its benefits. they have great benefits. Healthcare, school, retirement, chance to travel, ect. Also, snce you already have a degree you will not start at the bottom of the food chain. Which is good. You will start out probably being an officer and making good money. This happened to Fiance friend. He went to school for 4 years, graduated, and automatically became an officer. not too shabby eh? and yes, MissAsB you move every 3 years with almost every branch of the military, but i’m sure theres way around it. Good luck with your decision!

everything that everyone else said, except do NOT ask your first questions to a recruiter, unless that is the only person available.

recruiters jobs are to recruit. many, many, many people that join curse at their recruiter after the fact- for painting an unrealistic picture, for ommiting crucial details, or not actually making them realize what would be involved.

you are much better off finding military people (that have a few years in- not too many because things have changed alot, and not too few because they are don’t know what is going on yet). ask them the same questions and compare the answers. .. we all have different experiences that we base our input on.

Both my husband and I are active duty in the Air Force. If you join the military (any branch) you are going to have to 1.) move and 2.) deploy at some point. If you can’t commit to either one, then you don’t need to join at all. It’s a hard lifestyle, and it’s not for everyone. If you don’t want to move, try joining the reserves, or the national guard. you’d be stationed by home. Even with the reserves, you’d have to deploy, though. The decision is ultimatley up to you, but you have decide if you can commit to the lifestyle or not.

Wait – someone went to college and became an officer without additional training? What service is this?

My FH is a reserve Marine and is getting ready for his second deployment. Marine Reservists haven’t deployed as much as others – he has volunteered for both deployments. National Guard is more likely to get deployed as a unit vs. a smaller group (like my FH’s situation).

If you don’t want to commit to moving, then yes – go reserve of whatever branch. Maybe Air National Guard? I definitely think the Air Force is the ‘smartest’ service – they promote way faster and have more officers/women than any other service which is good for you (whatever the impact of many officers/fast promotion truly means is another discussion!). My FH always says that if he didn’t feel the drive to be a Marine, he’d definitely be in the AF.

Coast Guard reserve might be a another good option.

And again, you don’t have to be in the military to serve your country.

I agree with the general consensus here–you don’t need to join the military to serve your country, especially if you can’t or unwilling to move or deploy. But with your skills you shouldn’t have trouble finding a place to serve. If you still really want to join the military, I would consider speaking with someone who is in the national guard, to see what they say.

@jindc: I’m pretty sure they still have to go to Officer Candidate School. FI has a couple friends that didn’t go to service academies and became officers, they did not become officers automatically.

You could also do Natrional Guard. Fiance was in the Texas National Guard for 3 or 4 years before commissioning in the Army. Since it’s the state’s national guard, you’ll never be stationed outside of the state. However, you’re probably going to deploy since we are at war. Just out of curiousity, why do you want to be in the military if you don’t want to be a part of the deployments?